Pneumatic cotton harvesting machine

Abstract

A cotton picking machine comprises a chassis for moving the machine in a traveling direction, a vacuum pump provided to create a predetermined vacuum and a cotton picking unit including a cotton picking head supported by the chassis. The cotton picking head includes upper and lower vacuum compartments both in fluid communication with the vacuum pump and connecting tubes vertically extending between the upper and lower vacuum compartments and movable along a predetermined endless path so as to be in sliding contact with the upper and lower vacuum compartments at the corresponding distal ends thereof. Each of the connecting tubes includes a set of hollow picking fingers radially outwardly extending therefrom. The predetermined endless path includes an extracting zone and an inoperative zone. The connecting tubes fluidly connect the upper and lower vacuum compartments only when the connecting tubes pass the extracting zone of the predetermined endless path.

1. A pneumatic harvesting machine, comprising:
 a chassis for moving said machine in a traveling direction; 
 a vacuum pump supported by said chassis and provided to create a predetermined vacuum; and 
 a picking unit including a first picking head supported by said chassis, said first picking head including: 
 a first vacuum compartment and a second vacuum compartment both in fluid communication with said vacuum pump, said vacuum compartments spaced from each other; and 
 a plurality of connecting tubes extending between said vacuum compartments, said connecting tubes movable along a predetermined endless path; 
 each of said connecting tubes including a set of hollow picking fingers radially outwardly extending therefrom; 
 each of said picking fingers having an access opening and being in fluid communication with the corresponding connecting tube; 
 said predetermined endless path including an extracting zone and an inoperative zone; 
 said connecting tubes fluidly connected to said vacuum compartments when said connecting tubes passing said extracting zone so that crop being extracted from plants and suctioned into at least one of said vacuum compartments through said picking fingers; 
 said connecting tubes fluidly disconnected from said first and second vacuum compartments when said connecting tubes passing said inoperative zone. 
 
     
     
       2. The pneumatic harvesting machine as defined in  claim 1 , wherein said first and second vacuum compartments are spaced from each other in vertical direction. 
     
     
       3. The pneumatic harvesting machine as defined in  claim 1 , wherein said first and second vacuum compartments are fluidly connected to each other through at least one vacuum pipe fluidly connected to said vacuum pump. 
     
     
       4. The pneumatic harvesting machine as defined in  claim 3 , wherein said first picking head further includes at least one sweeper head provided to pick-up the crop fallen to a field; said at least one sweeper head is mounted to at least one vacuum pipe through a support tube fluidly connecting said at least one vacuum pipe to said at least one sweeper head. 
     
     
       5. The pneumatic harvesting machine as defined in  claim 1 , wherein said first picking head further includes at least one sweeper head provided to pick-up the crop fallen to a field; said at least one sweeper head is fluidly connected to said vacuum pump. 
     
     
       6. The pneumatic harvesting machine as defined in  claim 5 , wherein said at least one sweeper head includes a front sweeper head disposed in front of said first picking head and a rear sweeper head disposed behind said first picking head along said traveling direction. 
     
     
       7. The pneumatic harvesting machine as defined in  claim 1 , wherein each of said first and second vacuum compartments is provided with an elongated slot longitudinally extending along a portion of said predetermined endless path, said slot defining said extracting zone of said predetermined endless path so that when a one end of one of said connecting tubes registers with said slot in said first vacuum compartment, an opposite end of said one of said connecting tubes registers with said slot in said second vacuum compartment so as to provide fluid communication between said first and second vacuum compartments through said one of said connecting tubes. 
     
     
       8. The pneumatic harvesting machine as defined in  claim 7 , wherein slot in said first vacuum compartment is aligned with said slot in said second vacuum compartment in the direction of said predetermined endless path. 
     
     
       9. The pneumatic harvesting machine as defined in  claim 1 , wherein said access opening of each of said picking fingers is provided at a distal end thereof. 
     
     
       10. The pneumatic harvesting machine as defined in  claim 9 , wherein said distal end of each of said picking fingers is tapered. 
     
     
       11. The pneumatic harvesting machine as defined in  claim 1 , wherein said picking unit further includes a second picking head structurally substantially identical to said first picking head; wherein said second picking head is supported by said chassis and is disposed opposite said first picking head in the direction perpendicular to said traveling direction so that plant stems of a plant pass between said first and second picking heads as said pneumatic harvesting machine moves through a field. 
     
     
       12. The pneumatic harvesting machine as defined in  claim 11 , wherein said extracting zones of said first and second picking heads face each other and are disposed closer to each other than said inoperative zones thereof. 
     
     
       13. The pneumatic harvesting machine as defined in  claim 12 , wherein said picking fingers of said connecting tubes of said first picking head passing said extracting zone of said predetermined endless path of said first picking unit are facing said picking fingers of said connecting tubes of said second picking unit passing said extracting zone of said predetermined endless path of said second picking unit. 
     
     
       14. The pneumatic harvesting machine as defined in  claim 11 , wherein said picking fingers of each of said connecting tubes extending substantially perpendicularly therefrom in parallel to each other and aligned to each along each of said connecting tubes. 
     
     
       15. The pneumatic harvesting machine as defined in  claim 14 , wherein said picking fingers of said first and second picking units are disposed alternately and spaced from each other. 
     
     
       16. A cotton picking machine, comprising:
 a chassis for moving said machine in a traveling direction; 
 a vacuum pump supported by said chassis and provided to create a predetermined vacuum; and 
 a cotton picking unit including a first cotton picking head supported by said chassis, said first cotton picking head including: 
 an upper vacuum compartment and a lower vacuum compartment both in fluid communication with said vacuum pump, said upper and lower vacuum compartments spaced from each other in vertical direction; 
 a plurality of connecting tubes extending between said upper and lower vacuum compartments, said connecting tubes movable along a predetermined endless path; and 
 at least one sweeper head provided to pick-up the cotton fibers fallen to a cotton field, said at least one cotton sweeper head being fluidly connected to said vacuum pump; 
 each of said connecting tubes including a set of hollow picking fingers radially outwardly extending therefrom; 
 each of said picking fingers having an access opening and being in fluid communication with the corresponding connecting tube; 
 said predetermined endless path including an extracting zone and an inoperative zone; 
 said connecting tubes fluidly connected to said vacuum compartments when said connecting tubes passing said extracting zone so that cotton fibers being extracted from cotton plants and suctioned into at least one of said vacuum compartments through said picking fingers; 
 said connecting tubes fluidly disconnected from said first and second vacuum compartments when said connecting tubes passing said inoperative zone. 
 
     
     
       17. The cotton picking machine as defined in  claim 16 , wherein said upper and lower vacuum compartments are fluidly connected to each other through at least one vacuum pipe fluidly connected to said vacuum pump. 
     
     
       18. The cotton picking machine as defined in  claim 17 , wherein said at least one sweeper head is mounted to at least one vacuum pipe through a support tube fluidly connecting said at least one vacuum pipe to said at least one sweeper head. 
     
     
       19. The cotton picking machine as defined in  claim 18 , wherein said at least one sweeper head is pivotally mounted to a distal end of said support tube; and wherein a proximate end of said support tube is attached to said at least one vacuum pipe so as to fluidly connect said at least one sweeper head to said vacuum pipe. 
     
     
       20. The cotton picking machine as defined in  claim 11 , wherein said at least one sweeper head includes a front cotton sweeper head disposed in front of said first cotton picking head and a rear cotton sweeper head disposed behind said first cotton picking head along said traveling direction.